₪ Clouds ₪
by Kish's Kittie
Summary: Clouds can create the lovliest and cutest of thoughts... MxI


**_A/ N: This is story has the same feel as my other stories "Butterflies, Fireflies, Rainbows, and Stars" (it's not a sequel, if anyone's wondering) so please enjoy!!!_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMM or the song "Clouds" by Bread...**

₪ Clouds ₪

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_See the clouds there giving life below  
In colors that the canvas cannot show  
Keeping secrets that know one else could know  
For I'm the one who told them so__…_

"_Clouds" by Bread_

▲

Ichigo lay there sprawled out with her head against a fluffy bed of emerald green grass. The edges of the blades tickled the hairs on her neck a little making her scratch. Ichigo closed her eyes and took in a big breath full of clean, fresh air; she slowly let it out through her nostrils as she lye there sedate. _Everything is so beautiful and so full… The clouds are so magnificent… _Ichigo smiled as she lay there with thoughts constantly filling that little head of hers.

"I wish Aoyama-kun were here… that would be the perfect moment." Ichigo sighed with a smile growing upon her face that reached from cheek to cheek.

Fall had been around for quite some time lately and the air was growing colder each and every day, preparing itself for what was to come— winter. Leaves rustled through the air as each passing breeze knocked them around. The trees had turned all sorts of bright colors. The ones in the park, where Ichigo currently was, were mostly yellow and orange; with all of the trees together, it looked like a sunset… The yellow leaves were so bright and full of happiness; they gave their surroundings an uplifting feel. The orange leaves were, not a bright orange, but a full orange. They were a darker color than Halloween's pumpkins; they gave their surroundings a calm and amicable feel… with all of the colors together, it was the perfect paradise and cathartic rest…

At the ends of some orange-leaved trees, you'd, surely but seldom, find bright red leaves that quite honestly brought to mind a tomato. Your eyes would be brought them immediately if they were in a tree, yet at night they were arduous to find— no matter how bright they were…

The grass was getting short, and with the shortage of rain, some of it turned a slight brown that definitely helped give fall its feel. Most of the grass Ichigo laid in was green, but brown patches throughout the park could be found…

The sky's bright blue color was beginning to fade because of time, and how it was growing closer to dark. You could almost see the sun setting in the distance, but it hadn't gotten out of sight just yet— in fact, it was about thirty minutes away from setting. Because of how late in fall it was, it got darker pretty early. Ichigo knew this and really spent her time wisely under the currently blue sky…

-

_"Hello?" Ichigo called down the long hallway of her school. The halls and school itself, was seemingly empty. Ichigo stood there alone in the hallway with her heart pounding inside and herself growing worried. "Is anyone here?" she called out again. No one answered her…_

_Ichigo was dressed in her gray school uniform and brown flats; she even had her khaki, brown bag at hand. Ichigo wondered why she was there— alone. Her footsteps echoed through the halls and made a loud clacking sound. _

_Ichigo peeped into a couple classrooms just to find them empty. She continued on her way through the hallway just to find it growing longer and longer… Ichigo soon grew tired from all the walking she had done and stopped for a breath. She placed her hand down on the wall to help her balance and rest. _

"_What am I going to do?" Ichigo collapsed down on her knees and began to cry. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. Then, she heard a noise come from the classroom next to her. It sounded almost like movement, footsteps… then silence… Ichigo stood to her feet, listening to her heartbeat with every step taken towards the room. She placed her hand gently on the knob and hesitated opening it. She bit on her lower lip and pushed the door open. It was nothing but black. Ichigo's eyes widened. She took a step away but something called her into the darkness. She stepped in and the door closed behind her._

"_Aoyama-kun!" Ichigo called. No response. A tear slid down her cheek and hung at the end of her chin. "Aoyama-kun…" she whispered._

"_Momomiya-san…" she heard a voice and felt someone grab hold of her hand. She floated up into the air of the pitch-black darkness but then a glow dispersed the darkness with color. It looked like a rainbow shining from her hand._

"_Aoyama-kun." Ichigo saw his face through all of the colors…_

_-_

"Aoyama-kun…" Ichigo's cheeks grew warm and she blushed. Ichigo blinked her eyes a few times and her vision cleared as she stared up at the puffy white pillows in the sky. She smiled. _Aoyama-kun is so sweet… he's always there for me… _Ichigo smiled as a picture of his face appeared in her thoughts; he smiled so warmly at her…

"Nya." Ichigo peeped from excitement.

Ichigo sat up on the grass and smiled at the scene ahead of her. She watched as orange leaves fell from a tree in the distance. They fell so gracefully and landed softly on the ground. How come when leaves die, they're pretty? In a way, this troubled Ichigo… she was happy because the leaves were dying? Death is a sad thing… but these leaves were so beautiful, and with her mind clouded with thoughts of Masaya— she couldn't help but smile.

Ichigo then felt something touch her head. She opened her eyes fully and touched the top of her head with her hand. She pulled down whatever was there and pulled her hand down to her eyes. It was a leaf. It was a mix of orange, yellow, and red colors. It was so pretty and so full of life, yet it wasn't. Looks can be deceiving… Ichigo cuffed her hand a little with the leaf sitting in her palm; she raised it up to her mouth and flattened out her hand— she formed her lips into a circle and blew air out making the leaf fly away. It turned and rolled through the air until the breeze calmed down a bit and it softly landed on the grass…

-

_"Blub… blub, blub?" Ichigo shot open her eyes and saw nothing but blue. Ichigo looked down at herself and realized she was completely submerged. Ichigo's mind clicked on and she began to panic, searching for a way to get out and find oxygen. Ichigo looked up and saw light. She quickly swam up and slung her head out of the water, making her hair fly back in one piece and out of her way. The first, large breath of oxygen felt so good to Ichigo._

_She swam there with her legs still kicking for dear life as she searched around for someplace, just a little bit of land to get her out of the water. She looked like she was in the middle of the ocean._

"_Hello? Is anyone there?" she yelled with water still trying to slip into her mouth; she had to spit it out every ten seconds… No one responded. Ichigo began to feel like there was no hope. She didn't' want to cry and allow herself to become vulnerable. She tried her hardest to stay above the water. But, she grew so tired, and indolent of having to keep her legs and feet moving constantly… Ichigo finally just closed her eyes and let her body submerge under the water. Ichigo began to cry, and her tears just dissolved into the copious amount of salt water._

_Her body sank quicker and quicker by the second; Ichigo's air was growing very low and she could feel body beginning to quit on her. She gave up the last bit of faith she had and just opened her mouth relieving herself of the last bit of oxygen… Then, someone grabbed hold of her hand. Ichigo shot open her eyes and saw a face staring back at her under water. But, it was too late… she had run out of air and she grew faint; Ichigo closed her eyes with that face still clear in mind…_

"_Ichigo…"_

"_Ichigo…"_

"_Ichigo…"_

_Ichigo opened her eyes and just stared up. She saw brown eyes and brown hair staring back at her amorously. _

"_I- I thought I was dead… nya…" Ichigo said._

"_I would never let you slip, Momomiya-san…"_

_-_

"I'll never let you slip either… Aoyama-kun— I'd give my life for you." Ichigo smiled as took in a nice air through her nostrils and smiled. _Aoyama-kun cares for me so much… and I do too… I wish he were here right now… _Ichigo thought.

She stared up at the sky above her and noticed the sun was beginning to set. The sky's clear, blue color began to fade and was turning yellow and orange. Ichigo lay back down on her back and faced the clouds. They still floated overhead, watching Ichigo and all that she was doing. Ichigo smiled at them. They floated in towards the sun as it was beginning to be enclosed within them. The clouds kept forming into different shapes as Ichigo looked at all of them.

"That one looks like a strawberry…" Ichigo pointed to a cloud directly to her left that seemed to be in the shape of a fat diamond. It you looked closely, the sky almost looked like a green color that acted as the top of a strawberry. Only the creative-minded ones could see this— Ichigo being one. She looked at one next to it that looked like a bunny. It had two long ears that came out of its head with two eyes, and a tiny little tail; this one was so blunt there's no way you couldn't see it. Ichigo then looked over to her right and noticed another that was in the shape of a heart…

"— Strawberry Bell Bell…" Ichigo smiled. Ichigo closed her eyes and smiled lightly…

-

_"Hee hee!" Ichigo seemed to be sitting on top of a floating cloud above the skies. She'd look down and see all sorts of people below her. "Nya!" she smiled as she jumped onto another cloud. Her cat DNA really showed as she jumped. She landed and her butt was stuck in the air like a cat about to pounce. Ichigo licked the corners of her lips. But, then all of a sudden, Ichigo grew uneasy; something weird was going on. Ichigo watched as the sky turned a grayish color and soon… pure black. Ichigo's smile drooped and she sat her butt down on a cloud. The cloud was so soft and comforting then, she felt it growing thin beneath her._

"_Nani?" Ichigo looked below her as she saw the cloud beginning to dissolve. Ichigo's eyes widened and she looked terrified. "Iie!" she screamed and quickly stood up, jumping onto another cloud. The sky began to grow darker each second, just when you thought it couldn't… It spread like a disease over the beautiful, white clouds and turned them gray, and they began to dissolve one by one…_

_Ichigo leaped once more and landed on the final cloud; there were no more clouds left. Ichigo stared down beneath the cloud at the ground, which was thousands of feet down. Ichigo grew aghast as she turned and saw the dark sky heading toward her._

"_No…" Ichigo let out as the sky touched the cloud. It covered it and was just inches away from her knees. Ichigo gave up faith and hope and just sat there waiting for it to engulf her in its depths… then—_

"_I've got you." Someone held Ichigo in their arms and they were soaring in the sky— the blue sky. Ichigo looked down and saw the ground, but she was safe above it. Ichigo turned her head and looked up; she saw long, luscious, blonde hair that flew within the air, and deep blue eyes that shined as brightly as the sky itself._

"_B— Blue Knight?" Ichigo gasped._

"_I'm always here to protect you… Ichigo…" Ichigo's heart melted along with his words. She smiled while lying in his arms as they flew above the skies…_

"_I love you— Aoyama-kun…" Ichigo smiled. Her pupils grew large because of the amount of love she held within her. He smiled back down at her._

"_I love you too, Ichigo…"_

_-_

Ichigo blushed so bright as she lied there beneath the orange sky. The clouds grouped together in the far distance as they overtook the sun and hid from the earth. It just grew darker, but prettier… Ichigo stood up to her feet and brushed off the dirt and grime from her skirt.

"Ichigo…" she heard a voice behind her that made her freeze.

"Aoyama-kun." His name slipped from her lips. He came up behind her and hugged her, holding her in his arms. Ichigo closed her eyes and smiled— enjoying this moment in his warm arms…

The clouds stared down at them as Ichigo stood there in his arms…

**_OWARI_**

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**Yep, you guessed it. There's going to be a sequel for this story as well; that sequel, I believe, will be the end of this Ichigo Series. I just hope everyone enjoyed the story! Please review!!!**


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